A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed an illegal immigrant in Houston during an enforcement operation on Tuesday. The officer fired his weapon in self-defense after the man, identified as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, attempted to ram him with his vehicle.

Details of the Incident

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Salgado Araujo was targeted in the operation because he was living in the country without legal permission. The man’s car struck an ICE vehicle, and he was shot after ignoring commands from the officer.

Salgado Araujo died after being transported to a hospital. The incident has drawn calls for an independent investigation from Democratic officials and immigrant rights groups.

The FBI’s Houston field office is investigating a potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer. The shooting comes amid a push by the Trump administration to carry out its mass deportations agenda, with ICE arresting over 10,000 people in a five-day period at the end of June.

Reaction to the Shooting

Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, who represents the neighborhood where the shooting took place, called for an independent investigation, saying the initial account released by federal authorities needs to be verified.

Ronaldo Salgado, Salgado Araujo’s son, described his father as a hardworking Mexican man who had been in the U.S. for almost 35 years and was in the process of getting a work permit. He said his father did not deserve to be shot.

The shooting was at least the eighth death from an encounter with federal immigration officials since the start of the Trump administration’s intense immigration enforcement campaign in the U.S.

Original reporting: 40/29 / KHBS (NW Arkansas) — read the source article.